The Basic Science of Why Coffee and Alcohol Cause Dehydration

In this short video, the playful educational series ASAP Science tackles the biology of how kidneys regulate the amount of water in the body. Both caffeine and alcohol, it turns out, inhibit the production of a key hormone in the process. The series is produced by Gregory Brown, a high school teacher, and Mitchell Moffit, a filmmaker, with the goal of answering simple science questions in an accessible way. They talk about the making of the show in an interview here.

Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg joined The Atlantic in 2011 to launch its video channel and, in 2013, create its in-house video production department. She leads the development and production of original documentaries, interviews, and other video content for The Atlantic. Previously, she worked as a producer at Al Gore’s Current TV and as a content strategist and documentary producer in San Francisco. She studied filmmaking and digital media at Harvard University.